Bay 12 Games Forum

Reading that RainyMood is just a 30 minute sound loop, I'm forced to mention a nice program which is... wait... oh... which is by a Russian developer, but surprisingly for me has an English language homepage. It's... basically, an aural forest simulator, that is, temperate forest, with a hell of customization, plus it can work in sync with the Windows clock, and change the surroundings depending on time. Last I've run it on Windows, about a year ago, I had some issue, though, and I'm not sure about its stability on different OS's, and I'm definitely not going to try to run it on Linux.
The issue might have been related to my running it non-stop, and some conflicts on startup. And I might have been dumb or they might have fixed it already with an update, although I don't see a way to check the latest release date.

I don't know how spiffy they are, but that's what I'm calling a good enough.



A couple of thoughts about this experience:

a good part of yesterday I spent researching their relative heights
another part - researching disco moves. In the end, the Emperors have this youtube guy to thank for their grace.
Also they have to thank my sister for her suggestions about dynamism in postures. Karolus still seems stiff, though.

Ah, originally I tried to draw them with their regalia, but in the end ruled it out as ridiculous, seeing how heavy Karolus' crown seems. But this way they're hardly recognizable out of context of this thread. Oh, well. If you want to reuse them somewhere, Barbarossa, you probably can paste inscriptions, denoting them, maybe near their heads. Or you can ask me to do it. By the way, I've got another variant of this drawing, before the shading and the background, if you want.

Next up the story. Still gotta figure out the plot points.

No, I kind of wanted to, but not overwhelmingly. It's enough to say that it's not how genetics work at all, but your script has got this sci-fi feel about it that says "it's a staple of the genre, what do you want?"

Uh-oh, Acanthus. Is her appearance supposed to be relevant at some plot point? Or is it just general atmosphere?

Barbarossa, do you have some specific kind of disco-dance in mind?

You've seen enough of such threads here to know what it's all about. People come and post their requests for me to carry out. Yet, I hope it's something new, as I haven't seen any such threads about writing.

I have little to present as my portfolio. I've got this thread on the forum. I think I've improved a lot during the course of it, so consider latter entries as my current quality standard. Besides writing it contains some drawings by me (mostly on the last couple of pages). So, you can request a drawing, too. Actually, for drawing samples feel free to look through my photobucket.

What I expect:

Writing requests:

An idea for a short story no more than 10 pages (US letter, font size 12) long. <=1 protagonist (no multiple points-of-view). More or less our reality based. Or revolving around the Dwarf Fortress. Edit: Or original sci-fi./edit It'll be hard for me to produce something quality in a setting I know nothing about. So, no fanfiction. But. If by chance you need an intro for your RP or RTD or other forum (or non-forum) game, I'll be happy to do it (as long as it's not fanfiction). I'll take many genres, but expect me to consult you heavily if I'm not familiar with some aspect of your request (like gun names and properties, or military terms).

Drawing requests:

Take into account the limitations of the medium I intend to work in - pencil on paper. I probably won't be able to depict lush greens, although I've got color pencils here. Moreover, I'm probably not qualified to draw anything else than humanoids and animal life. However, I trust my imagination on bizarre things. So, if you suddenly feel like Lovecraft, I'll be happy to fulfill your desires. Be careful with numbers in your requests. Ideally, I'd like a picture to include no more than four persons (or entities). My battle drawings tend to turn out ugly. Edit: A certain burningpet had offered his colouring services, so some colourful requests are in.

Edit: drawings are much easier than writing. I don't expect a drawing to take more than a couple of evenings, if the request follows the guidelines.
Writing, on the other hand, (as I've found out, in the course of my first request, actually) can take ten times the time, because for the need for characters to have personalities (whereas a single drawing can deal without), the setting to have consistency... and the story... well, a short story format is very strict, you need to have the setup and the resolution almost on the same page. It needs to be tight, and, should there be any more requests, expect your request to take the more time the looser your idea is.
So, originally there was a timeframe. Now I can only say that I want to alternate between writing and drawing. We'll see if my desires and restrictions meet.

You mean this?

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=54284.msg1190509#msg1190509
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=54284.msg1192152#msg1192152

You're a funny guy, Strife. Well, as an author. You know, what Heroes is now?


A perfect popular history book about... some fantasy place.
Well, I can understand the semblance if the main character is a historian. But the readers are going to be put off by this style if it's not explained right off.
And, I don't know, the beginning makes Strife so chill... that it's simply incredible. I mean he is able to describe the fashion of the era in the middle of a battle.
Anyway, if I'm right, you need to insert more involvement into Strife's observations. A battlefield is not a place to consider architecture.

The rhythm has improved greatly. And overall style.

However, I must make a couple of points. First, don't underestimate the reader, second, do not play tricks with the reader. Ah, mostly the latter. Basically, you imply too much. Strife's outworldishness is in hints, and the reader is already supposed to meet the natives. You either drop the "other plane" for now (make Strife a mysterious warrior, maybe even omit the name), or explain it. Otherwise it's just unnecessarily confusing. Is Strife's origin so important to play with it? I'd think it's just a convenient setup for a fantasy story. No?

Last point. "Strife, doomed as he was, had appeared at the city a scant few weeks earlier." What? How does being doomed prevent him from having appeared here before? Is this some time paradox the reader isn't let into, again? Please make sense in your writing.

Again, the best cure here would be to explain Strife's origin right away.

What I meant was, if you look through this thread, all the announcements for until the elves and the barrels have been written out.
I, actually, don't have a copy at hand and am not going to be tempted by ed boy's FILES.
So, I don't know if with elves something noteworthy happens, except for

A burglar has stolen a prepared meal! x20
A burglar has stolen a prison key!
Elven guard cancels check on a prisoner: Job item lost or destroyed x12
A prisoner has escaped!x12

Uh, have no idea about the right colors.